HerseyBlanchardi

HerseyBlanchardi is a fictional species created for educational demonstration of taxonomic practice in biology. In this teaching construct, the species is placed in the fictional genus Hersiola within the family Hersiaceae, to illustrate how binomial names are formed and how morphology is described in species accounts. The name combines the surnames Hersy and Blanchard as a homage to researchers used in textbooks.

HerseyBlanchardi is described as a unicellular green alga with a spherical to slightly elongated cell shape, typically 3 to 5 micrometers in diameter. It has a simple cell wall, a single chloroplast with chlorophyll a and b, and a centrally located nucleus. Reproduction is described as primarily asexual via autospores, with occasional sexual stages in response to environmental stress in the fictional ecology.

HerseyBlanchardi is depicted as inhabiting freshwater ponds and slow-moving streams in temperate regions. In the educational scenario, it is considered to prefer neutral to slightly alkaline waters, and to compete with other microalgae for light and nutrients.

Etymology: The epithet "Blanchardi" honors a fictional researcher named Blanchard; the compound name is used to teach the convention of honoring individuals in scientific names.

In scholarly literature, HerseyBlanchardi does not exist as a real taxon; it is widely used in classrooms to demonstrate description conventions, Latinized naming, and the process of documenting a species account.